has been active in British Filk for over twenty years, since Con2bile, the 1990 British filk con.
Talis is a multi-talented musician who does it all: sings, writes, arranges, plays guitar and bouzouki, and plays them well. She has also played numerous other instruments on occasion. She is a stunning performer, both as a solo artist and with others. She has explored and continues to explore new musical collaborations by backing others, by inviting guest performers to join her, and with varying combinations of musicians in her backup band.
She writes very prolifically, producing songs that are metaphorical, enigmatic, and hauntingly beautiful; they can also be wickedly humorous or socially confrontational. Her songs cover the whole range of human dreams and desires, and make us want to laugh, cry, think, and maybe even change our behaviour – she’d like that. Recently, her musical focus has shifted from filk more to folk, with studio albums of political and environmental songs that invite us to think about our real and immediate future.
Talis’ music appears on recordings that span twenty years. They range from early demo tapes (Uffington Hill, Icarus’ Sister) through the highly regarded Archetype Café and on to more recent, polished studio recordings such as The Hearth and the Hive, and Queen of Spindles. She has guested on the recordings of others. The popularity of her work can be measured by the large number of people who cover her songs.
She has won eight Pegasus Awards: one for performance, three for songwriting, and four for individual songs; and has an amazing twenty-eight additional nominations.
Talis is very friendly, approachable, and gracious. She encourages people to ask questions about British fandom. She fosters other people’s musicality, always trying to encourage improvement in songwriting, arranging and performance craft, both one-on-one and in workshops. Most importantly, she loves music, both performing and listening, and meeting new people; and it shows.
For these contributions to filk music and the filk community, Talis Kimberley is inducted into the Filk Hall of Fame this twenty-sixth day of April, Two thousand and fourteen.
Photo credit: Mike Whitaker